Food machine attachment

ABSTRACT

In a food machine attachment such as a grater, slicer, etc., the cutting disk of the attachment is fastened to a supporting hub by means of a series of keyhole slots formed in the disk and receiving headed studs mounted on the hub and the disk is locked onto the hub by means of resilient tabs struck from the disk and engaging spokes extending radially between the hub and a drive shaft. The number and spacing of tabs is selected such that at least one tab will be in engagement with a spoke regardless of which stud is received in which keyhole slot.

United States Patent Hartley 5] Feb. 29, 1972 [54] FOOD MACHINE ATTACHMENT 2,109,358 2/1938 Rupert ..146/116 IR [72] Inventor: Richard S. Hartley, Troy Ohio 2,713,367 7/1955 Aberer ..146/91 [73] Assignee: The Hobart Manufacturing Company, Primary Examiner-Willie G. Abercrombie Troy. Ohio Attorney-Marechal, Biebel, French & Bugg 22 H d: A .12 1970 l 1 e 57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 63,077

ln a food machine attachment such as a grater, slicer, etc., the cutting disk of the attachment is fastened to a supporting hub [52] US. Cl ..l46/1l5, 146/ 177 by means f a series f keyhole slots f d in the i and [51 Int. Cl B2611 4/22 receiving headed studs mounted on the h and the disk i Fllld of Search ..13 R, 1 14, 1 15, 116, 1 17, locked onto the hub means f resilient b struck f the 91 disk and engaging spokes extending radially between the hub and a drive shaft. The number and spacing of tabs is selected [56] References cued such that at least one tab will be in engagement with a spoke n- STATES PATENTS regardless of which stud is received in which keyhole slot.

1,558,197 10/1925 Mansuy ..146/114 5Claims,4Drawing Figures PATENTBFE529 1912 IN VEW TOR RICHARD S. HARTLEY M52 @uwaf/W ATTORNEYS FOOD MACHINE ATTACHMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Food-preparing machines, such as mixers, are conventionally provided with a power takeoff for driving a food machine attachment such as a slicer, grater, etc. Attachments of this type will usually include a casing having a hopper or some other type of feed opening connected to the casing, a drive shaft rotatably mounted in the casing with one end extending outwardly to engage the power takeoff of the food machine and a cutting disk of some type mounted on the opposite edge of the drive shaft within the casing. One method of mounting the cutting disk on the shaft is to provide a hub connected to the drive shaft by means of radially extending spokes with a series of headed studs on the hub engaging in keyhole slots formed in the cutting disk.

While this type of fastening has served satisfactorily in the past, as higher disk speeds are reached, the possibility of the disk becoming disengaged from the hub also increases with possible damage to the attachment and in any case, an interruption of the food-preparing process, resulting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a food machine attachment according to the present invention, headed studs on a supporting hub are received in keyhole slots on the cutting disk to prevent movement of the disk relative to the hub in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft. However, in addition to this securement the disk is locked onto the hub by means of a series of resilient tabs which snap into place in engagement with one or more of the spokes extending between the hub and the drive shaft as the disk is rotated relative to the hub to engage the headed studs in the smallest part of the keyhole slots in the disk. The tabs are conveniently formed as tongues struck out from the plane of the disk itself and the number and spacing of the tabs are selected so that at least one tab will engage one of the spokes when the studs are received in the keyhole slots, regardless of the relative positions of the disk and hub.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, showing a food machine attachment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cutting disk and associated support structure in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing the engagement of one of the locking tabs with a portion ofa spoke; and

FIG. 4 is a view taken on line 44 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As seen in FIG. 1, a food machine attachment may comprise a casing having a hopper 11 mounted thereon and opening into the interior of the casing for feeding food products thereinto. The hopper will generally be pivotally mounted on the casing by means of hinges l2 and a latch, not shown. A shaft 13 is rotatably mounted within the housing with one end 14 thereof extending outwardly of the casing to engage the power takeoff of a food-preparing machine. Adjacent the end of the shaft 13 opposite the end 14 thereof a hub 15, as seen in FIG. 2, is mounted by means of a series of radially extending spokes 16. The hub 15 is provided with a series of uniformly spaced headed studs 17 each having an enlarged head 18 and a reduced shank portion 19.

A disk 20 is mounted on the hub by means of a series of keyhole-shaped slots 21 each having an enlarged portion 22 which is larger than the heads 18 of the studs and a reduced portion 23 which is smaller than the heads of the studs but larger than the shank portion 19 thereof. To restrain the disk 20 from movement in a direction parallel to the axis of the drive shaft 13, the studs 17 are received in the enlarged portions of the keyhole-shaped slots and the disk rotated clockwise, as seen in FIG. 2, so that the smallest portion of the keyhole-shaped slots engage the shank portions 19 of the studs.

To prevent the disk 20 from twisting in a counterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 2 and inadvertently becoming disengaged from the supporting hub 15, tab means 24 having flat distal portions 25 are provided on the disk for engaging one or more of the spokes 16. The tabs are conveniently formed as tongues struck out from the plane of the disk toward the end 14 of the shaft 13. With this construction as the disk 20 is turned in a clockwise direction, as seen in FIG. 2, to bring the shank portions 19 of the studs into the reduced portions 23 of the keyhole slots, one or more of the tab means 24 will snap into place behind one or more of the spokes 16 with the flat distal portion 25 engaging the side of a spoke, as seen in FIGS. 3, and 4 the disk 20 will then be locked into place on the supporting hub.

It will be noted from FIG. 2 that there are eight keyhole slots and eight headed studs on the disk and supporting hub, respectively, while there are four radially extending spokes l6 and two struckout tongues 24. From this it will be seen that if the number of tabs 24 are selected to be at least equal to the number of keyhole slots and studs divided by the number of spokes, and the tabs positioned properly on the disk, at least one tab will always engage at least one of the spokes when the studs are positioned in the smaller part of the keyhole slots, regardless of the position of the disk with respect to the hub. Thus, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, at least one of the tongues 24 will be in engagement with at least one of the spokes 16 when the disk 20 is mounted on the hub 15.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a food machine attachment including a casing, means defining a feed opening into said casing, a drive shaft rotatably mounted in said casing with one end thereof extending outwardly of said casing to engage the power takeoff of a food machine, a hub mounted on an end of said shaft opposite said one end through radially extending spoke means and a disk, means mounting said disk on said hub comprising:

a. a series of studs mounted on said hub and extending therefrom,

b. each of said studs having an enlarged head spaced from said hub by a reduced shank portion,

c. said disk having a series of keyhole-shaped openings therein corresponding in position to the position of said studs on said hub,

(I. each of said openings having a portion of largest dimension greater than the diameter of said heads and a portion of smallest dimension smaller than said diameter of said heads and larger than the diameter of said shank portion,

c. said studs being received in said openings with said shank portion positioned in said smallest portions of said openings, and

. resilient tab means extending outwardly of the plane of said disk and engaging said spoke means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

a. there are an equal number of studs and openings and said studs and said openings are positioned at uniformly spaced intervals about said hub and said disk, respectively,

b. said spoke means comprises a series of uniformly spaced spokes, and

c. said tab means comprises a plurality of tongues at least equal in number to the number of said studs and openings divided by the number of said spokes.

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein:

said disk is formed of sheet metal, and

. said tongues are struck out of said metal.

. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein:

. said tongues have substantially flat distal portions.

. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein:

. there are eight studs, eight openings and at least two of said tongues.

QUIN-AUPP 

1. In a food machine attachment including a casing, means defining a feed opening into said casing, a drive shaft rotatably mounted in said casing with one end thereof extending outwardly of said casing to engage the power takeoff of a food machine, a hub mounted on an end of said shaft opposite said one end through radially extending spoke means and a disk, means mounting said disk on said hub comprising: a. a series of studs mounted on said hub and extending therefrom, b. each of said studs having an enlarged head spaced from said hub by a reduced shank portion, c. said disk having a series of keyhole-shaped openings therein corresponding in position to the position of said studs on said hub, d. each of said openings having a portion of largest dimension greater than the diameter of said heads and a portion of smallest dimension smaller than said diameter of said heads and larger than the diameter of said shank portion, e. said studs being received in said openings with said shank portion positioned in said smallest portions of said openings, and f. resilient tab means extending outwardly of the plane of said disk and engaging said spoke means.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: a. there are an equal number of studs and openings and said studs and said openings are positioned at uniformly spaced intervals about said hub and said disk, respectively, b. said spoke means comprises a series of uniformly spaced spokes, and c. said tab means comprises a plurality of tongues at least equal in number to the number of said studs and openings divided by the number of said spokes.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein: a. said disk is formed of sheet metal, and b. said tongues are struck out of said metal.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein: a. said tongues have substantially flat distal portions.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein: a. there are eight studs, eight openings and at least two of said tongues. 